Defense minister and IDF chief at odds over senior military reshuffle, Katz halts appointments

Sources close to Katz stated that Zamir did not consult or coordinate with him prior to the reshuffle, and therefore, the minister has decided that he will not approve the appointments.

Defense Minister Israel Katz criticized IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir for holding discussions to appoint and reshuffle senior IDF positions, including seven division commanders and new heads of the Armored and Engineering Corps, among others.

Current protocols require the defense minister’s approval for senior IDF posts, such as any position with the rank of brig.-gen.

Sources close to Katz stated that Zamir did not consult or coordinate with him prior to the reshuffle, and therefore, the minister has decided that he will not approve the appointments.

In response, the IDF published the details of the names and positions of new senior appointees in the reshuffles.

Katz is trying to establish a precedent similar to the one made by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over senior Israel Police appointments, a military source said. “The current procedure is that the IDF General Staff examines and presents a list of appointments to the minister,” the source clarified.

Katz’s office released a statement, saying: “The personnel discussion held today by Zamir was done contrary to the defense minister’s directive and without prior coordination and agreement, which goes against the established procedure…The chief of staff will be required to coordinate with the defense minister to discuss these or other appointments in the future.”

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit also issued a statement after Katz’s office, confirming that the listed appointments were conditional on the defense minister’s approval. They added that “This is a personnel discussion at the core of which are field operational positions to which field brigade commanders have been appointed. These commanders have led and commanded since the outbreak of the war in several battlefronts.”

“Zamir is the sole authority in issuing orders to appoint officers of the rank of colonel and above in the IDF,” and only after these decisions are made by the IDF head, does the list go to the minister for approval, the military stated.

Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid criticized Katz on Tuesday morning, stating, “In this insane government, even a basic event like appointing officers in the IDF doesn’t pass without leaks, arguments, slander, and late-night statements.”

“This is not how you run a country, this is not how you lead an army,” Lapid wrote.

Some of the senior appointments proposed by Zamir

Brig.-Gen. Barak Hiram, currently commander of the IDF’s 99th Division, is slated to become the new head of the IDF Operations Directorate’s Operations Division.

As part of the reshuffle and promotions, seven IDF divisions are slated to receive new commanders, namely the 98th, 36th, 210th, 99th, 146th, 143rd, and 252nd Divisions.

The reshuffle and promotions also include appointing a new commander of the IDF Armored Corps and the Engineering Corps, respectively, as well as other senior positions across the military.